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Super Look Ahead Poker

Introduction

Any legitimate professional gambler, or cheat, can tell you if you know the next card to be dealt, it gives the player a powerful advantage. This is exactly what you're told in Super Look Ahead Poker. After the deal, the game tells you the next card to be dealt. You can either accept it or burn it. Unfortunately, IGT is not so foolish that they give this information for free. It costs three more coins on top of the usual five, which also pays to bump up the pay table a bit. Below are the complete rules.

Rules

The game is based on standard single-play video poker rules, except as noted.

The player may play normally, betting one to five coins, or may bet eight coins to invoke the Look Ahead feature.

The wager must be made before the deal.

If the Look Ahead feature is active, then after the deal, the game will reveal the next card to be dealt.

The player may then touch that card to designate that he wants it to be the next card.

The player will also indicate which cards he wishes to hold, as usual.

If the player chooses to keep the next card, then it will be the first card given to the player on the draw.

If the player chooses to decline the next card, then it will be burned and may not be given to the player on the deal.

In addition to the extra three coins paying for the Look Ahead feature, it also bumps up the pay table on some of the hands.

Example

After betting eight coins, here is the hand I was given on the deal. The little nine of spades on the left is the next card in the deck, which I can accept or reject.

I choose to hold the two aces and the nine of hearts. I also choose to accept the nine of spades as the next card, which will give me at least a two pair on the draw, and maybe a full house.

As promised, the game replaced the first discard, the four of clubs with the nine of spades. Unfortunately, the next card didn't give me a full house, so I was paid for a two pair.

A reader questioned my decision to hold the two pair, suggesting that maybe holding the aces only would be better. I did the calculations and the expected value of holding the two pair is 13.04 coins, while the aces alone is 7.81.

Using my video poker hand analyzer will not give the correct numbers because after the Look Ahead card, you're drawing into a 46-card deck, not 47.

Games and Pay Tables

After I already completed my analysis of six pay tables found at the Rampart Casino in Las Vegas, IGT kindly provided me a list of all games and pay tables that Super Look Ahead Poker is available in. Thankfully, my results agreed.

The returns indicated in the following tables are based on a full eight-coin bet.

Bonus Poker

BONUS POKER

99.47%

98.25%

96.17%

94.76%

ROYAL FLUSH

800

800

800

800

STRAIGHT FLUSH

75

100

70

50

FOUR ACES

100

100

100

100

FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's

60

60

60

60

FOUR 5's THROUGH K's

30

30

30

30

FULL HOUSE

10

9

8

11

FLUSH

6

6

6

9

STRAIGHT

5

5

5

5

THREE OF A KIND

3

3

3

3

TWO PAIR

2

2

2

1

JACKS OR BETTER

1

1

1

1

Bonus Poker Deluxe

BONUS POKER DELUXE

99.80%

98.68%

97.78%

96.52%

95.64%

ROYAL FLUSH

800

800

800

800

800

STRAIGHT FLUSH

110

110

150

75

120

FOUR OF A KIND

95

90

90

90

90

FULL HOUSE

10

10

10

9

8

FLUSH

6

6

5

6

6

STRAIGHT

5

5

5

5

5

THREE OF A KIND

3

3

3

3

3

TWO PAIR

1

1

1

1

1

JACKS OR BETTER

1

1

1

1

1

Deuces Wild

DEUCES WILD

99.15%

97.77%

97.40%

97.18%

96.38%

95.30%

ROYAL FLUSH NO DEUCES

800

800

800

800

800

800

FOUR DEUCES

200

200

210

200

200

270

ROYAL FLUSH WITH DEUCE

30

30

30

30

30

30

FIVE OF A KIND

20

15

15

23

14

20

STRAIGHT FLUSH

10

11

10

14

9

11

FOUR OF A KIND

5

5

5

5

5

5

FULL HOUSE

4

4

4

3

4

3

FLUSH

3

3

3

2

3

2

STRAIGHT

2

2

2

2

2

2

THREE OF A KIND

1

1

1

1

1

1

Deuces Wild Bonus Poker

DEUCES WILD BONUS POKER

99.92%

99.28%

97.71%

96.44%

95.71%

ROYAL FLUSH NO DEUCES

800

800

800

800

800

FOUR DEUCES + ONE ACE

400

400

400

400

400

FOUR DEUCES

230

260

260

270

290

ROYAL FLUSH WITH DEUCE

30

30

30

30

30

FIVE ACES

80

80

80

80

80

FIVE 3's, 4's, 5's

40

40

40

40

40

FIVE 6's THROUGH K's

20

20

20

20

20

STRAIGHT FLUSH

10

14

11

13

11

FOUR OF A KIND

5

5

5

5

5

FULL HOUSE

4

3

3

3

3

FLUSH

3

3

3

2

2

STRAIGHT

1

1

1

1

1

THREE OF A KIND

1

1

1

1

1

Double Bonus

DOUBLE BONUS POKER

99.40%

98.02%

96.56%

94.34%

ROYAL FLUSH

800

800

800

800

STRAIGHT FLUSH

100

120

140

100

FOUR ACES

200

200

200

200

FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's

120

120

120

120

FOUR 5's THROUGH K's

60

60

60

60

FULL HOUSE

10

10

10

9

FLUSH

7

6

6

6

STRAIGHT

5

5

4

4

THREE OF A KIND

3

3

3

3

TWO PAIR

1

1

1

1

JACKS OR BETTER

1

1

1

1

Double Double Bonus

DOUBLE DOUBLE BONUS POKER

99.42%

98.32%

97.21%

96.18%

95.07%

ROYAL FLUSH

800

800

800

800

800

STRAIGHT FLUSH

100

130

150

170

110

FOUR A's + ANY 2, 3 OR 4

400

400

400

400

400

FOUR 2's,3's,4's + ANY A,2,3,4

200

200

200

200

200

FOUR ACES

200

200

200

200

200

FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's

100

100

100

100

100

FOUR 5's THROUGH K's

70

70

70

70

70

FULL HOUSE

10

10

9

8

8

FLUSH

6

5

5

5

5

STRAIGHT

4

4

4

4

4

THREE OF A KIND

3

3

3

3

3

TWO PAIR

1

1

1

1

1

JACKS OR BETTER

1

1

1

1

1

Jacks or Better

JACKS OR BETTER

99.84%

98.68%

97.41%

96.36%

95.31%

ROYAL FLUSH

800

800

800

800

800

STRAIGHT FLUSH

160

100

120

150

120

FOUR OF A KIND

30

30

30

30

35

FULL HOUSE

10

11

10

9

8

FLUSH

7

6

6

6

6

STRAIGHT

5

5

5

5

5

THREE OF A KIND

3

3

3

3

3

TWO PAIR

2

2

2

2

2

JACKS OR BETTER

1

1

1

1

1

Triple Double Bonus

TRIPLE DOUBLE BONUS POKER

99.95%

98.70%

97.56%

96.46%

95.56%

ROYAL FLUSH

800

800

800

800

800

STRAIGHT FLUSH

80

70

100

70

50

FOUR A's + ANY 2, 3 OR 4

800

800

800

800

800

FOUR 2's,3's,4's + ANY A,2,3,4

400

400

400

400

400

FOUR ACES

200

200

200

200

200

FOUR 2's, 3's, 4's

100

100

100

100

100

FOUR 5's THROUGH K's

55

60

60

65

70

FULL HOUSE

10

10

10

9

8

FLUSH

7

6

5

5

5

STRAIGHT

4

4

4

4

4

THREE OF A KIND

2

2

2

2

2

TWO PAIR

1

1

1

1

1

JACKS OR BETTER

1

1

1

1

1

Rampart Games

The following table shows the games and pay tables available at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. These are mostly the ones I observed at the $1 denomination at the Rampart casino. The table shows the win per coin, based on five coins bet, as well as the eight coins bet in Look Ahead mode. The wins in Look Ahead mode are multiplied by five. The other three coins are a fee for the feature and are never returned.

Analysis

It takes my computer three days to run through all the combinations for any given pay table, on a single core, so forgive me for the small number of pay tables analyzed for this game. As always, these tables assume optimal player strategy.

In these tables, the return is the product of the win, probability, and 5/8. The reason for multiplying by 5/8 is that the player must bet eight coins, but the win is only five times as much as the "pay" indicates.

This first pay table was seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 97.21%. It is paired with the standard "8-5" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 96.79%. So, the return is 0.42% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.

9-5-4 Double Double Bonus

Hand

Pays

Combinations

Probability

Return

Royal flush

800

87,974,754,408

0.000053

0.026271

Straight flush

150

511,450,150,320

0.000305

0.028636

Four aces + 2-4

400

191,693,040,912

0.000114

0.028621

Four 2-4 + A-4

200

435,357,510,696

0.000260

0.032501

Four aces + 5-K

200

453,386,164,320

0.000271

0.033847

Four 2-4

100

927,656,831,448

0.000554

0.034627

Four 5-K

70

4,130,590,654,512

0.002467

0.107928

Full house

9

39,822,764,850,144

0.023783

0.133782

Flush

5

43,666,000,676,280

0.026079

0.081496

Straight

4

44,756,833,216,392

0.026730

0.066826

Three of a kind

3

150,797,450,143,008

0.090061

0.168864

Two pair

1

298,078,596,633,312

0.178022

0.111264

Jacks or better

1

314,575,758,077,112

0.187875

0.117422

Nothing

0

775,955,850,741,936

0.463426

0.000000

Total

1,674,391,363,444,800

1.000000

0.972084

This second pay table was seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 97.40%. It is paired with the standard "20-12-9-4" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 97.06%. So, the return is 0.34% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.

30-15-10-5-4-3-2 Deuces Wild

Hand

Pays

Combinations

Probability

Return

Natural royal flush

800

83,918,830,752

0.000050

0.025060

Four deuces

210

461,394,275,328

0.000276

0.036167

Wild royal flush

30

6,199,475,041,824

0.003703

0.069422

Five of a kind

15

9,469,688,280,192

0.005656

0.053021

Straight flush

10

13,584,349,973,400

0.008113

0.050706

Four of a kind

5

140,427,624,551,424

0.083868

0.262087

Full house

4

91,740,005,743,392

0.054790

0.136975

Flush

3

68,060,026,344,744

0.040648

0.076214

Straight

2

135,383,947,846,632

0.080856

0.101070

Three of a kind

1

437,313,146,108,112

0.261177

0.163236

Nothing

0

771,667,786,449,000

0.460865

0.000000

Total

1,674,391,363,444,800

1.000000

0.973958

This third pay table was seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 97.41%. It is paired with the standard "8-5" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 97.30%. So, the return is 0.11% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.

120-30-10-6 Jacks or Better

Hand

Pays

Combinations

Probability

Return

Royal flush

800

87,215,339,304

0.000052

0.026044

Straight flush

120

479,009,969,424

0.000286

0.021456

Four of a kind

30

5,907,654,412,128

0.003528

0.066154

Full house

10

42,952,393,437,984

0.025653

0.160328

Flush

6

43,142,933,475,144

0.025766

0.096624

Straight

5

53,810,214,093,000

0.032137

0.100429

Three of a kind

3

142,049,396,498,112

0.084836

0.159068

Two pair

2

316,361,572,029,504

0.188941

0.236177

Jacks or better

1

288,962,118,973,584

0.172577

0.107861

Nothing

0

780,638,855,216,616

0.466222

0.000000

Total

1,674,391,363,444,800

1.000000

0.974141

This fourth pay table is for a Bonus Poker game seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 96.98%. It is paired with the standard "6-5" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 96.87%. So, the return is 0.11% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.

120-100-60-30-8-6-5 Bonus Poker

Hand

Pays

Combinations

Probability

Return

Royal flush

800

87,161,846,904

0.000052

0.026028

Straight flush

120

476,464,571,136

0.000285

0.021342

Four aces

100

485,617,017,312

0.000290

0.018127

Four 2-4

60

1,358,845,897,248

0.000812

0.030433

Four 5-K

30

4,084,216,353,504

0.002439

0.045735

Four 5-K

8

43,027,630,882,848

0.025697

0.128487

Flush

6

43,115,409,755,352

0.025750

0.096562

Straight

5

52,517,457,440,136

0.031365

0.098016

Three of a kind

3

142,912,752,207,264

0.085352

0.160035

Two pair

2

317,563,998,665,184

0.189659

0.237074

Jacks or better

1

289,321,314,676,128

0.172792

0.107995

Nothing

0

779,440,494,131,784

0.465507

0.000000

Total

1,674,391,363,444,800

1.000000

0.969835

This fourth pay table is for a Bonus Poker Deluxe game seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 97.78%. It is paired with the standard "6-5" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 95.36%. So, the return is 2.42% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.

120-100-60-30-8-6-5 Bonus Poker

Hand

Pays

Combinations

Probability

Return

Royal flush

800

86,187,628,008

0.000051

0.025737

Straight flush

150

487,101,302,928

0.000291

0.027273

Four of a kind

90

5,964,527,372,832

0.003562

0.200374

Full house

10

43,148,140,961,760

0.025769

0.161059

Flush

5

42,998,298,155,208

0.025680

0.080250

Straight

5

50,806,022,851,656

0.030343

0.094822

Three of a kind

3

144,253,932,209,280

0.086153

0.161537

Two pair

1

319,221,563,756,544

0.190649

0.119156

Jacks or better

1

288,125,881,337,448

0.172078

0.107549

Nothing

0

779,299,707,869,136

0.465423

0.000000

Total

1,674,391,363,444,800

1.000000

0.977756

This fifth pay table is for a Double Bonus Poker game seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 98.02%. It is paired with the standard "9-6-5" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 97.81%. So, the return is 0.21% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.

120-200-120-60-10-6-5 Double Bonus Poker

Hand

Pays

Combinations

Probability

Return

Royal flush

800

87,903,486,864

0.000052

0.026249

Straight flush

120

477,063,459,576

0.000285

0.021369

Four aces

200

634,588,268,832

0.000379

0.047375

Four 2-4

120

1,360,769,140,080

0.000813

0.060952

Four 5-K

60

4,074,588,838,656

0.002433

0.091255

Four 5-K

10

39,551,726,324,304

0.023622

0.147635

Flush

6

43,230,099,657,240

0.025818

0.096819

Straight

5

53,380,897,565,688

0.031881

0.099627

Three of a kind

3

147,488,441,293,440

0.088085

0.165159

Two pair

1

292,704,495,261,408

0.174812

0.109258

Jacks or better

1

306,800,841,320,568

0.183231

0.114520

Nothing

0

784,599,948,828,144

0.468588

0.000000

Total

1,674,391,363,444,800

1.000000

0.980218

This sixth pay table is for a Bonus Deuces Wild game seen on a $1 machine at the Rampart casino in Las Vegas. The lower right cell shows a return of 97.71%. It is paired with the standard "9-6-5" pay table for one to five coins bet, which returns 97.36%. So, the return is 0.35% higher for making the maximum eight coin bet, for this game at least.